Android Pay and PayPal have joined forces, meaning that customers will be free to use PayPal as a payment method online, via app or in-store in areas where Android Pay is accepted.
This initiative comes amid a rush to secure ground in the hotly pursued mobile wallet space, with mobile devices continuing to be targeted as the next big frontier of payments.
In the early stages of the move, customers can expect to be able to use their PayPal balance with Android Pay, but the integration is set to open up other options such as using cards stored within PayPal. This plan is to be implemented by recent tokenisation partnerships made by PayPal with card networks.
In a blog post detailing the partnership and its goals, PayPal COO, Bill Ready, said: “consumers in the U.S. will be able to use PayPal in Android Pay at retailers from Walgreens to Dunkin’ Donuts. This partnership will enable our customers to pay across even more contexts, and will extend PayPal’s mobile leadership and reach as consumers become more comfortable shopping and buying on their mobile devices.”
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PayPal is facing growing pressure from FinTech payment providers such as Stripe, a name that is going through major growth, having received significant support financially from investors such as Peter Thiel, a cofounder of PayPal.
Bill Ready said: “On the heels of our partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Citi, FIS and others, we’re excited to announce we’re expanding our relationship with Wells Fargo to soon enable our joint customers to pay with their Wells Fargo credit or debit card for contactless payments in-store.”
